TAME is incredibly proud that two of our volunteer Region Leaders – Cyndi Nyvall and Cindy Hopkins – as well as one of our TAME Engineers, were recognized by the Texas Girls Collaborative Project with the 2023 Stand Up for STEM awards!

Late last year the TxGCP announced the winners, individuals, and organizations in Texas that are advancing women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

This year’s Stand Up for STEM Educator Awards include:

• Cynthia Hopkins, Kaffie Middle School, Corpus Christi ISD in Corpus Christi
• Cynthia Nyvall, Curriculum Specialist II, Texas Education Agency Region 7 Education Service Center in Kilgore
• Amarachi Uche-Eboh is in her fourth year as a TAME Club member at the Talkington School for Young Women Leaders in Lubbock. Amarachi received the 2023 Stand Up for STEM Individual Award!

The awards celebrate our shared commitment to inspire and support students to achieve their engineering and STEM dreams! Keep reading to meet the awardees!

Meet TAME Engineer, Amarachi Uche-Eboh
“I have participated in TAME since 8th grade, and it has been a blast. I have met amazing people and harnessed my engineering, collaborative, and problem-solving skills to prepare for a successful future. Most of all, TAME shows that engineering is a powerful way to develop secure, advanced, healthy global societies. These are initiatives I want to help advance in the future. I hope to continue with my TAME path, and I encourage others to get involved in this incredible educational opportunity.”

 

Cindy Hopkins, Science Educator Extraordinaire

Cindy has been teaching seventh grade at Kaffie Middle School for 17 years. She is also an adjunct professor in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Cindy launched the TAME Club her school, she is the TAME Corpus Christi Chapter Leader, and last school year, she was named Teacher of the Year for the Corpus Christi ISD. Cindy also received the 2023 Stand Up for STEM Educator Award from the Texas Girls Collaborative Project.

“TAME gives my students tools and opportunities to learn more about the engineering profession, the variety of roles and projects that engineers support – and they are loved and supported the whole time.”

As TAME has focused our programming on engineering education and the real-world impact of engineers, TAME Chapter Leaders like Cindy receive new tools to provide a hands-on learning experience. Cindy has embraced TAME’s engineering curriculum, and her students love the real-world focus.

“As an educator, my approach is to bring lots of hands-on and minds-on work that opens their eyes to possibilities and feeds their curiosity. I am still in awe that people view what I am doing as worthy of this recognition.”

 

Cyndi Nyvall, Powerful Advocate for Educational Opportunities

Cyndi Nyvall, a recipient of the 2023 Stand Up for STEM Educator Award from the Texas Girls Collaborative Project, is a TAME champion and an advocate for educational opportunities – particularly for students from groups traditionally lacking access to STEM education and careers.

Cyndi’s involvement with TAME began with a vision of an inclusive, welcoming space for students of all backgrounds to discover and explore their interests in engineering and other STEM fields. Cyndi recognized a great need for TAME programming in her native East Texas to support students from underrepresented communities aspiring to careers in engineering. So Cyndi spearheaded the formation of TAME Clubs in middle schools throughout Birdville ISD, recruiting students from diverse backgrounds and economic circumstances.

She founded the TAME East Texas Region, transforming it into the fastest-growing TAME Region in the state.

“As a teacher at heart, I love kids and I am invested in their success. I am invested in being part of TAME and an organization that intentionally seeks out equal opportunity for all kids. I want every child to hear that they can succeed, that they can be challenged, that they are worthy and capable.”